This invention relates to leather textile substitute materials based upon thermoplastic materials. More particularly, it relates to unsupported cellular sheet-like thermoplastic materials for use in handbags, sports goods, fancy goods, and other goods usually produced from artificial leather as leather or textile substitutes.
It is known to make leather and textile substitute from polyvinyl chloride or polyurethanes. These materials are predominantly used bonded to support a material, especially textiles. In the production of these materials, polyvinyl chloride paste, has been coated on to a support material and subsequently gelled out at elevated temperature. Alternatively, a reactive polyisocyanate mixture and a mixture of hydroxyl group containing polyesters, polyethers and polyvalent alchohols have been employed by depositing them on a support material and thereafter affecting a reaction. Methods for the production of these leather or textile substitutes require costly processing.
The known leather and textile substitute materials made from polyvinyl chlorids or polyurethane cannot be used without support as these polymeric materials themselves do not have sufficient stability. The substitute materials on supports are not capable of being deep drawn; i.e., are not capable of being formed into an article by the deep drawing process wherein the material in sheet form is drawn deeply by use of a vacuum into a cavity.
Additionally, polyvinyl chloride does not have sufficient "breathing" activity; i.e., it does not have sufficient porosity to permit air to pass through. Additionally, polyvinyl chloride suffers from the decisive disadvantage in that there is substantial plasticizer migration. This is true even in the case of foamed polyvinyl chloride which breaks down and becomes brittle at low temperatures.
It has, therefore, become an object of the present invention to provide a thermoplastic based leather or textile substitute material which has excellent porosity and breathing ability. Moreover, it has become desirable to provide a textile or leather substitute material having improved density, excellent tear propagation and tensile strength. Still moreover, it has become desirable to provide such a material with good flexibility whereby the combination of these properties allows one to dispense with the normal support materials. It has also become an object of the present invention to provide a thermoplastic leather or substitute material which has low weight and high resistance to cold, good breathing activity, high flexibility, good dirt repelling action, good mechanical strength and stability and easy fabricability by deep drawing, welding, and gluing.